The generation of pulsed electric fields for tissue therapeutics has moved from the laboratory to the clinic over the past two decades. Application of brief, high DC voltages to tissue may generate locally high electric fields typically in the range of hundreds of volts per centimeter that disrupt cell membranes by generating pores in the cell membrane. While the precise mechanism of this electrically-driven pore generation or electroporation continues to be studied, it is thought that the application of relatively brief and large electric fields generates instabilities in the lipid bilayers in cell membranes, causing the occurrence of a distribution of local gaps or pores in the cell membrane. Such electroporation may be irreversible if the applied electric field at the membrane is larger than a threshold value, leading to the pores remaining open, thereby leading to necrosis and/or apoptosis (cell death). Subsequently, the surrounding tissue may heal naturally.
Electroporation of tissue may be performed using electrode probes coupled to a high voltage generator for generation and delivery of brief, high voltage pulses, and may be limited by the capabilities of the generator. There is hence an unmet need for improved systems, devices, and methods to efficiently generate tissue ablation waveforms for therapeutic treatment, such as for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, for example.